


Sweet as Chocolate

by LaurentheFlute



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Gift Fic, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:40:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27530914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaurentheFlute/pseuds/LaurentheFlute
Summary: Another gift for my friend EndlessCharade, of his Undertale AU fic "The Scars We Choose" (with ShamanicShayman). Last time, I wrote something light and fluffy from Asriel's perspective; now it's time for me to play up a hint of melodrama and tragedy from Chara's perspective because, well, that's how I roll.The best way to chase away nightmares is a hug from someone you care about. The second best way is probably chocolate, preferably prepared with love.Part of my DrabbleNovember challenge, Day 4, prompt: Hot chocolate, or coffee.
Relationships: Chara/Asriel Dreemurr
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11
Collections: #DrabbleNovember 2020 Collection





	Sweet as Chocolate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EndlessCharade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EndlessCharade/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Scars We Choose](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18183455) by [EndlessCharade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EndlessCharade/pseuds/EndlessCharade), [ShamanicShaymin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShamanicShaymin/pseuds/ShamanicShaymin). 



_Figures stalked them through fire-streaked nightmares, smoke billowing all around, unseen hands reaching for them, a voice saying words they tried so hard not to hear, and then a shrill, high-pitched scream—_

Chara woke with a thud on the floor, in the dark, in sudden silence.

No, not silence. They could hear the faintest whistle of a distant kettle, an echo of the scream from nightmares they would rather not remember. Otherwise, the house slumbered quietly on, peacefully oblivious to the loud, ugly thoughts that seemed to poison the very air around Chara.

Their nightmares felt too present here, ghostly whispers that threatened to pull them back in. Sleep was obviously not going to be a safe option any time soon, even if their racing heart could calm enough to make it physically possible.

But if the kettle was whistling, then _someone_ was in the kitchen, and that meant not being alone with their own self. That was one of the things casual sex had often given them—not just a place to stay, not just fleeting physical pleasure, but also the presence of _someone else_ that sent the worst of their self skittering back into the shadows. They'd cut that source off at Asriel's request, but there were other ways now of getting their fix, of not being alone. They had a family, now.

Even if it were Tori alone in the kitchen, Chara could handle that. Normal kids had nightmares, right? There would be nothing suspicious about creeping down to the kitchen in the middle of the night for a glass of water or a snack to distract from having had a nightmare. Tori didn't need to know the details of what Chara was even now trying to banish back into the basement where it belonged.

But they were still relieved, when they tiptoed down the stairs and into the kitchen, to see Asriel's pajama-clad back alone in the kitchen.

"Ree?"

He startled and looked up guiltily from the steaming mug in his hands. "Oh, Chara. I didn't hear you come down."

"If you step along the edges instead of right in the middle of the stairs, they don't squeak."

"Well, and, it probably helps if you're a little…" He swallowed. "A little lighter than I am. I don't think I could go down the stairs quietly if I tried. Not anymore."

Chara stepped closer. Right now they wanted, more than anything in the world, to bury their face in the soft fluff where his neck met his shoulder and feel the solidity of him grounding them to this world, to this house, to this place. But they held themself in check, trying to keep the desperation out of their voice. "I like hearing your footsteps. It's comforting."

Maybe they didn't keep their voice as steady as they meant, or maybe Asriel could pick up on some other tell they weren't aware of, because he held his arms out to offer the hug they so badly needed. Gratefully, they clung to him.

"Bad dreams?" he asked. They nodded into his shoulder, and he released them with a worried look on his face. "Do you want me to make you something? My mom used to heat up a glass of milk for me to help me sleep when I had nightmares as a kid."

"I'll have what you're having." Chara sniffed at the mug, then grinned. "Hot chocolate? Yes, please."

"Then I'll make you the good stuff." Asriel opened the pantry door and started rummaging around in his mother's baking supplies.

Chara hovered over his shoulder. "What's the difference?"

Asriel waved dismissively at the counter, where his own mug sat, abandoned. "We've had this in the house for ages from when—dad still lived here, but mom can't stand it. Real hot chocolate is made with either cocoa powder or grated chocolate, and it's much better."

"That sounds like a lot of work."

"It's a little more work, but it's worth it." Asriel gathered an armload of canisters from the pantry and set them beside the stove.

"Really, you don't have to. The powdered stuff's fine. I'm not picky."

"I think you'll be able to taste the difference more than you think," Asriel said, with a shy little smile. "You're trying to stop me because you don't think you're worth the effort, aren't you? But you _are_ worth the effort. You're _always_ worth the effort. So let me make you the _damn_ cocoa."

The unexpected swear word made them laugh, especially seeing Asriel duck his head in embarrassment— _this boy swearing is probably the most adorable thing I have ever seen in my entire fucking life_ —and if it was intended to lower their defenses, it hit its target.

"Fine," Chara said, and if their heart was pounding faster again, at least this time it was for a good reason, like someone had opened a box of butterflies in their chest. "Make me the _fucking_ cocoa."

"That's two quarters for the swear jar."

"I'll give her an IOU." 

"Chara," Asriel said, in his sweet, earnest voice, as he placed a pot on the stove to begin the eldritch ritual of preparing his fancy hot chocolate, "I am so glad you live with us now."

"Yeah?" They smiled, watching him. "Well. Me too."


End file.
